Growing a Real Estate Business Today Part 2

In Part 1, I touched on marketing and I wanted to continue this point further.

There are so many ways to market today and no shortage of leads to work with. One dedicated campaign with all your efforts executed properly can bring you more leads than you have capacity to handle quickly. This is a good problem to solve for sure. Some examples revolve around old fashioned direct mail. It still works today and very well. People really do call mailers for a variety of reasons. Situations change daily so you never know when your mailer gets to the right place at the right time. I assure you it happens and a little more often than you would expect.

Now take this concept and apply it something simple like listings no longer active on the MLS. You will get calls. Whether it is a fit or now remains to be seen however rest assured there is no shortage of clients dissatisfied with their listing agents that still want to sell their home. Not every Seller is unrealistic in their expectations. Managing those expectations to get the deal done is a huge part of it. This is but one example and a good segue into the next part…

Networking and Expectations

It goes without saying that networking is a big part of Real Estate being it is a ‘people’ business as I like to call it. However when you network, having solid expectations going into conversation goes a long way. Some examples with regards to a basic Real Estate transaction:

Meeting with potential Buyers – expect the opportunity to work with them to arise and take next steps

Meeting with a Seller – expect to get the listing by having the proper presentation

Meeting with an inspector – expect to get an honest and fair report that not only reports on the house but actually makes sense to both the Buyer AND the Seller. A great way to mess up a deal is to have a report that has silly things on it that turns off the Seller that are easily overcomeable. Hold the inspector to it. I realize the inspector is paid for usually by the Buyer however the Buyer is leaning on YOU most of the time to ensure they are getting good help.

Meeting with an appraiser – expect to get an appraisal that makes sense with current market conditions. Do your homework and know the comps and the area. Know the conditions of the house in question and the comparables. It is not that hard to get a good appraisal with the right information backed up by facts.

Meeting with others at a REIA meeting or Agent event of some kind (brokerage party, mixers, etc) – expect to meet new people that you could do business with and ensure they know you are serious and interested in doing real business.

There are many others but these are some examples. The key is to have the expectation of moving forward and having progress with anyone you meet. Will it always happen? Of course not. However networking without expectation is not much beyond raising your hand in a room and saying ‘present’ and then forgotten. Make an impact and expect others to do the same. Your presence can make it happen!

Tracking the Results

This is one of those, improves as it goes things but track, track, track. It makes a big difference especially over time to see what is working, what’s not and what you can improve. Simple reports will do you more good than you can imagine if you have never done this before. Do it! It doesn’t need to be complicated. A simple spreadsheet will work wonders for you. Don’t get caught up into all the analytics and forecasting yet if you haven’t done this before. Just start tracking accurately and build from there!

Conclusion

This is by no means a comprehensive list of everything you can do to grow your business. I have touched on some basic things that many people can do that will help greatly in the short term. Many people also do some of these things but only half-heartedly without conviction of success or haphazardly in which case being disorganized hurts their otherwise convincing efforts. You have to look at the big picture, break it down and make measurable progress step by step. Tracking the results will help guide you as to how you are doing.

Commit to growing and it can happen whether the market is up, down or sideways. Make it happen today!